HBO'S ABRAHAM DISCUSSES NEW SPORTS PROGRAM

Time Warner Sports President Seth Abraham says HBO's "Real
Sports with Bryant Gumbel" will be "unlike any ever attempted ...
covering stories no one else will pursue or even touch,"
according to Mike Hiestand of USA TODAY. The show will also
include Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, James Brown, Frank Deford
and Ira Berkow. Unlike the networks, HBO "doesn't have to worry
about offending any league to which it pays multimillion rights
fees or worry about advertisers." Gumbel admits to the networks'
difficulty in sports journalism: "With CBS, you might say 'Report
on how much the basketball Final Four generates and how little
goes to the kids.' But would it be worth it for them to risk
their relations with the NCAA?" The show will debut April 2 and
air four times in '95 (Mike Heistand, USA TODAY, 2/9).